Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
•Community Solar Concept A Big Hit At Michigan Energy Fair •A Secret Success Story •Generating interest in homegrown power •Power to the people – and to their homes •Brittany villages blazing a trail in energy self-sufficiency •Four German words
Even amid policy uncertainty in major wind power markets, wind developers still managed to set a new record for installations in 2012, with 44,000 megawatts of new wind capacity worldwide.
•Wind power is now cheaper than coal in some countries •Global solar capacity breaks through 100GW barrier •Media campaign against windfarms funded by anonymous conservatives •EU should seek 100 percent green energy by 2050: WWF •Weatherwatch: Wind turbines impact on balance and distribution of species
While global investment in clean energy fell by 11 percent in 2012, the dip still left last year as the second most successful year ever for the sector. And despite the speed bump, the planet’s installed capacity to generate wind power shot up from 238 gigawatts to slightly more than 282 gigawatts last year, according to numbers compiled by the Global Wind Energy Council.
In the race to transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy and avoid runaway climate change, wind has opened a wide lead on both solar and geothermal energy.
-Designing the grid for renewables
-Liquid Air: The Birth of the Nitrogen Economy
-Danes set the pace on green energy vision
-California Governor Jerry Brown green lights renewable energy push
-Polls: Voters back clean energy, climate policies
Oil prices fell dramatically this week to $107/barrel for Brent, on worsening economic news from China and Europe, and assurances from Saudi Arabia that it is ready to pump more oil to keep prices down. The speed of the fall on Monday however is something of a mystery and has led to an investigation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the FSA.
This book continues the presentation of the Lovins perspective, essentially the claim that there is great scope for conservation measures and alternative technologies to solve our problems and enable maintenance of rich world economies and lifestyles. My notes indicate that it would be far too capital costly for the US to run largely on renewable energy.
-Wind could meet many times world’s total power demand by 2030, Stanford researchers say
-EU proposal would limit use of crop-based biofuels
-Indian blackout held no fear for small hamlet where the power stayed on
-Asia Risks Water Scarcity Amid Coal-Fired Power Embrace
Ouse Valley Energy Supply Company, or Ovesco as it is commonly known, is a powerful inspiration for enthusiasts of community renewable energy….Standing on a hill above Lewes you can not only see the solar PV installations completed by Ovesco but also arrays of panels inspired by their projects. The local football club, the leisure centre and many local homes, have all followed the example of Ovesco. Other sites are looking to follow and there are also plans for community wind and hydro-electric schemes.
-Debunking wind energy myths – At a glance
-Merkel’s Other Crisis Spurs German Quest For Energy Holy Grail
-Dark clouds gather over China’s once-booming solar industry
-US solar PV market more than doubles to topple Europe
-Biofuel fails EU sustainability test, German researchers claim
-Keiser report: Monopolies, Military, Mayhem
-In Drought, Should Corn Be Food Or Fuel?
At this writing, the Tres Hombres schooner-brig is just reaching the Netherlands, on its way back from Copenhagen.
This we are sure of: as petroleum dependence continues to wreak havoc on our Earth’s sensitive environment, and the energy alternatives do not comprise an immediate solution, sail power emerges as the most viable energy source for trade and travel.
